Chef Akmal Anuar

He cooked for LKY five times at Asia's #1 restaurant. He was still overlooked. He had to leave Singapore to earn the right to elevate Malay cuisine at home.

I came across a story recently that I can't stop thinking about. It starts at a nasi padang stall at Teck Whye Lane that's been open since 1992.

Called Harummanis, after the fragrant harumanis mango. Run by a husband and wife. Their son used to help out as a kid, standing behind the glass, watching his mother mix her sambal.

That kid grew up to cook for Lee Kuan Yew. Five times.

Here's what I didn't know until recently:

His name is Akmal Anuar. He started as a commis chef at Les Amis in 1999. Worked his way through Singapore's fine dining circuit. Then Iggy's. Eight years there, three as head chef.

Under his watch, Iggy's was ranked #1 in Asia and #26 in the world. He cooked alongside Massimo Bottura. Served the founding Prime Minister five times.

But here's where it gets uncomfortable.

In his own words: "Even though I was cooking in one of the country's best restaurants, I was always ignored. I had all the skills and was out there, but I was always overlooked."

He wasn't overlooked because he lacked talent. He was overlooked because Singapore's food hierarchy couldn't categorise him. Too Malay for fine dining's European canon. Too fine dining for Malay food's hawker associations.

So he left.

In 2014, Akmal moved to Dubai. No category boxes there. Just a chef being judged on what came out of his kitchen. He opened 3 Fils with two Emirati partners.

3 Fils became the best restaurant in the entire Middle East and North Africa. His other restaurant earned a Michelin star. He built a group running six restaurants across the UAE and New York.

5,700 km from the hawker stall where he grew up.

Then in 2023, he came home.

He opened a 40-seat shophouse restaurant in Kampong Gelam. Chose the location because it's "very linked to the Malay community."

He named it Harummanis. Same name as his parents' stall.

His mother's sambal is in the dishes. Epok-epok reimagined as French puff pastry with wagyu. Rawon beef soup for $35.

His explicit mission: "Malay dishes always relate to something very cheap, and I intend to change that."

Here's the thing that keeps coming back to me:

He didn't reject where he came from. He named his fine dining restaurant after his parents' hawker stall. Same sambal. Same family. Same name.

But he had to earn the credibility to do it somewhere else first.

Sometimes you have to leave home to earn the right to change it.

What's something you had to go away to truly appreciate?